02:58'Real-life Loch Ness monster' fossil finds new home
The remains of the 'real-life Loch Ness sea monster' have been handed over to paleontologists at La Plata Natural History Museum in Argentina.
On Thursday, the research unit allowed cameras in to see the 70-million-year old fossilised remains of the heaviest known Elasmosaur, an ancient aquatic reptile which swam the seas during the Cretaceous period alongside dinosaurs. The animal would have weighed up to 15 tonnes and was one of the most complete reptile fossils ever discovered in Antartica.
The Argentina Antartic Institute and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina led the excavation on Seymour Island - just south of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Elasmosaurs are part of the family of the plesiosaurs, which are comparable to large manatees with giraffe necks and snake-like heads.
Due to its physical characteristics, the creature has long been thought to be represent the mysterious Loch Ness monster.
02:58The remains of the 'real-life Loch Ness sea monster' have been handed over to paleontologists at La Plata Natural History Museum in Argentina.
On Thursday, the research unit allowed cameras in to see the 70-million-year old fossilised remains of the heaviest known Elasmosaur, an ancient aquatic reptile which swam the seas during the Cretaceous period alongside dinosaurs. The animal would have weighed up to 15 tonnes and was one of the most complete reptile fossils ever discovered in Antartica.
The Argentina Antartic Institute and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina led the excavation on Seymour Island - just south of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Elasmosaurs are part of the family of the plesiosaurs, which are comparable to large manatees with giraffe necks and snake-like heads.
Due to its physical characteristics, the creature has long been thought to be represent the mysterious Loch Ness monster.